Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Did you tape illustrations from magazines and newspapers up on your wall when you were a kid?

I still do. The poster for Macy's Flower Show is out-of-this-world beautiful. The Chronicle ran it full-page and I immediately cut it out and taped it up on the cabinet in front of my desk. Google told me that Chris Buzelli did it.

From what I gather, the posters aren't for sale. But rumor has it that if you go to Macy's and buy something, you will get a shopping bag with the art printed on it.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Just in case you need to have a color proof made, Hanson Digital is the place to go. It's right down the street from the Dogpatch Cafe, and the owner, Mark is a nice person to boot. He's also an artist and a photographer.

Hardly any beach glass these days, though Peter found a giant piece yesterday with a big "P" on it.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Friday, March 25, 2011

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

I got to meet Judy Sierra today as she zoomed through town on her way south. We're toasting Janet Schulman; I think we both have tears in our eyes. Judy wrote the book below, We Love Our School–and Janet edited it and suggested that I illustrate it. It will be available June 28.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

I got to have a turkey sandwich and an Anchor Steam with my pal Sal (aka Stray) and her husband Pat at Mocca. Sal's taking the Hartford Art School traveling MFA illustration program. Jealz!! The school was stationed in San Francisco all week.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Walking back, we decide to check out Java Beach. If there's a table available, we'll have dinner. No table.

But this wondrous sliver of a park is going in down the middle of the Great Highway in front of Java Beach. It's breathtakingly beautiful. Huge stone benches, flowers, and look: they've recently started an edible garden. I guess we could have eaten from the edible garden but we decided to order Pad Thai instead.

And last night: I met my writing pardner Nancy at the Cliff House bar. We had never met–only exchanged writing for a week and hit it off. I wish I had a photo. But it was too dark and foggy to see anything 6 inches in front of you. Even inside, it seemed.

Sometimes when I'm with a new person, I'm so happy and excited (if I like the person) that the words coming out of my mouth don't make much sense at all. I jump from one topic to another like crazy and often realize too late that I'm not letting the other finish her thoughts. I might try to make an effort to slow down and listen.

One thing you must know about Nancy: She lives in Half Moon Bay within walking distance of Barbara's Fish Trap.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Sunday, March 13, 2011

I can't figure out what's happened to the dense beds of shell and rock (with glass mixed in). This afternoon I walked all the way down to Santiago looking for them. I thought maybe they had crept down the beach. But apparently the ocean has swallowed them back up.

I didn't find much glass at all. But isn't that a great piece of dirty old beat-up metal with the hole drilled through it? Oh ... maybe it's a weight–it's heavier than it looks. I want to make a necklace out of it using a silver ring and a black cord, and wear it with a little black cocktail dress.

Then ... I got all the way up to the north end of my walk, and it started raining in sheets.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Bad things are happening all the time. Today there was the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. But sad things are always going on.

Lucille saved my day today. She lives by Stern Grove and took me for a walk in her neighborhood (Tom called it the Beaver Cleaver neighborhood when he saw the photos). Later she made ginger lemon tea to go with the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies she had baked.

The best thing about the afternoon was just being in her presence. These photos of will give you a good idea of what she's like: Smart as a whip and funny, interesting and kind.

She tutors kids with dyslexia and is unceasing in her efforts to get a reading program into the schools that works for them.

Margaret, here's your tsunami report: When I drove to Lucille'e this afternoon the Great Highway was closed and they weren't allowing anyone on the beach. When the tide started going back out around 5:45, Tom and I hit the beach. No beach glass or rocks or shells at all, and the sand was very soft. We decided to walk back on the path beside the Great Highway being that it was dark and we wouldn't have been able to see a tsunami if it hit us in the face. These birds were standing guard.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

That's me up in the window. I'm holding the manuscript I sent off today, giving it one last look. (I had emailed a copy yesterday; and I mailed the hard copy at the P.O. today.)

I look up and over toward the park. Is the windmill turning? If the windmill is turning I take that as a sign that it's going to be a good day. No, the windmill isn't turning. In spite of that fact the day turns out to be a better one than yesterday.

Writing is harder than I thought, and I can see why verse–or writing in rhyme–is discouraged.

When I woke up at 5:30 a.m. yesterday, my wise voice told me: "Spend a day reading Dr. Suess." My wise voice gets dumber as the day wears on, and later in the day it told me, "Reading Dr. Suess is silly. It's not work. It's fun. You should not waste your time. What if Tom saw you reading Dr. Suess? What if there are still ants in the Dr. Suess book?" (When I got the book from Amazon, I swear there were ants in it.)

I just now got the book out of the cabinet and I see that "Dr. Suess" is in fact spelled "Dr. Seuss." It's a heavy volume that contains 13 stories by The Doctor.

I got my sister's comments on the manuscript back this evening. She had 5 good criticisms, the fifth being:

Pages 28-29The rhythm in the last line is so off that I'm doubting you really feel the sentiment that you are trying to express.

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

We parked in the park right beside the museum. As we walked up the entrance, I was stunned to find myself drooling. "Tom, if you ever notice I'm drooling, will you tell me?" I'm hoping it was because I had been looking forward to seeing this show for a whole week.

We hit all the gift shops before entering the show, but no Mary Ann.

Behind the big stone carvings, there were some huge photos of archaeologists searching for and digging out some of the pieces on display. Seeing the photos gave me the shivers–the same kind of feeling I get when I find a beautiful shard or a piece of pottery on the beach. I took a picture of the glass I found last night (above) along with a photo of a monument from the exhibit called Small Feline. The little cat is actually almost 4 feet high.

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

I didn't get out this evening until the sun was setting. But Anne ran by as I was getting started and it's always great to see her. I filled my pockets with glass and then had time to jog a tiny bit–almost to the concrete pier. Then all the way back before it got too dark. Usually there's enough light to see where you're going for at least a half hour after the sun goes down. I collected the pieces below Sunday and Monday!

Monday, March 07, 2011

Here is a picture of what I have collected so far, with a key and a
wrist mala for a size reference. I collected the sea glass during
two strolls on a small secluded beach on Huxi Island in the Penghu
Archipelago, Taiwan.

Now, I wonder if there is any problem with mailing sea glass
internationally? I'll keep collecting on weekends and send the
best of the lot.

Love,
John

From: Linda

Date: March 7, 2011 10:50:05 AM PST

Subject: Re: The Glass and the Beach

To: John

John, the glass you've found is gorgeous! AMAZING!!!

But it will cost you a fortune to mail it. You should just keep collecting, and put the glass in your suitcase when you go back to CO through CA.

You may decide to start your own beach glass collection. I hope not. It's not a good habit to get into. You start neglecting your work and your friends and you go out in the wind and rain without gloves on. You ruin lots of pairs of shoes and there's always a chance you'll get bitten by a dog or knocked over by a wave. But as long as you're collecting for somebody else it's usually a healthy activity.

Love,
Linda

p.s. Whatever you do, do NOT show your glass collection to Michael and Flame.

Sunday, March 06, 2011

My main email is still hotmail, but I have found it to be so much easier to mail photos from Picasa.

Anyway, while Tom was here an American couple, Michael and Flame,
photos attached, invited us to lunch at their home near the beach. I
was amazed to see that Flame had out a number of pieces of sea glass on a table in the living room. They walk the beach almost everyday, since they have four dogs.

Anyway this past weekend was beautiful and I also went walking on the
beach and found a bit of sea glass myself. Mostly small pieces of
brown and dark green, but some lighter pieces and a couple of small
blue pieces too. Do you just want certain colors? I don't remember
seeing lots of dark green and brown on your table. I'll keep going
back as the weather gets nicer, many days are very windy....up to
around 60 -70 mph. As you can see from the photos though, the wind
surfers love the wind, but it really isn't that pleasant for
strolling.

So, I'll send off some sea glass to you at some point. Thought you
might enjoy mingling east and west, one world, amen.

Love,
John

From: Linda

Subject: Re: Sea Glass

Date: March 5, 2011 1:29:05 PM PST

To: John

John! This is amazing–that you met some sea glass collectors. Michael and Flame look very nice. What did they have for lunch? On what beach do they live?

I like ALL COLORS of sea glass!

It's great that Tom got to visit you--the photos are really nice. He is very cute. (As are you.) I know you think I'm just trying to be agreeable so you'll send me the sea glass, but I'M NOT!

We love getting your messages and photos.

Love,
Linda & Tom

From: John

Subject: Re: Sea Glass

Date: March 6, 2011 1:22:37 AM PST

To: Linda

OK! We had another beautiful day today and I got some more sea glass. I'll just keep going out and send the very best. Now another question, do you care about big or small pieces? There are a lot of really small pieces, but I don't know if they are that interesting for you ... Flame said she was inspired by my story of your coffee table in San Francisco, and she brought out a lot more glass she has found. Now the pieces are sorted in bottles of a similar color. I haven't seen her new set up yet.

... They had a great vegetarian casserole for lunch. Michael used to run a vegetarian deli in Seattle, many years ago. It reminded me of good Dharma center food!

Hope spring is starting to arrive in your part of the world too.

Love, John

From: Linda

Subject: Re: Sea Glass

Date: March 6, 2011 11:22:41 AM PST

To: John

John, this is so exciting. I like all sizes of sea glass.

Last night all the glass out on our beach seemed to be TINY. But it was still fun because it seemed like every time I bent down to pick one up, I'd spot 5 or 6 more in the same place. This photo shows how tiny they were, using my weddin ring for scale. Today it's raining, so I may stay inside and eat white bean soup and have a beer.

Saturday, March 05, 2011

My 20-year-old surge protector had a meltdown last week, so I ordered this beauty from Amazon. I put it on top of my desk instead of on the floor. I'm looking forward to being completely wireless–but until that day it's kind of nice having all those cords off the floor.

(Of course the main reason for this photo is to show off my beach glass haul from the past week.)

Friday, March 04, 2011

Last night was Anne's show at Gallery 28. I knew that North Beach Margaret–fellow collector of beach glass–lived near the gallery, so we decided to meet. We had never met in person–only through blogging.

I decided to email her in the morning to tell her what I'd be wearing so she'd be able to recognize me.

But how could I tell her what I'd be wearing when I didn't have anything to wear? I did have a neon yellow scarf though, so I told her to look for the neon yellow scarf near the wine table. As you can see, it worked. There she is in the orange Point Reyes sweatshirt (and you already know that's Anne in the striped shirt).

Margaret brought her Shard of The Decade (that's her photo, above). She let me hold it in my bare hands when we were seated in Tomasso's. Margaret, it was great fun meeting you–and the leftover pepperoni pizza was exquisite this morning for breakfast

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

I found my Waters of March Aguas de Marco on an Antonio Carlos Jobim cassette, and listened to it this morning with breakfast. It was recorded in 1974, Elis Regina and Jobim do the vocals. Really nice. I think I have another recording around here somewhere, but can't remember who does it----Brazilian I think. The music fits our recent weather....heavy downpours on the last day of Feb, frog chokers, duck drownders; but today is clear and the creek level is no longer alarming. Crocuses up, but the ones I planted last fall haven't bloomed. Darn gardening!

My 'puter is acting up, too. Internet explorer not working, but I can
get/receive mail. Don't know what that is about. I'll have to go to the
library again to view the world through a computer screen.